When and why did the UK ban guns, could common people ever own one?
The UK has not banned guns. Common people can and do own them, and a lot of them to boot.
I owned and ran a gun shop for several years. I sold hundreds of people thousands of guns of all types.
You are required to hold a licence appropriate for the gun you want, and are further required to demonstrate a valid reason under the law for each one - with the exception of shotguns, which do not require a reason. If you can demonstrate a valid reason, you get it granted.
The list of people permanently prohibited from owning a firearm is mostly the same as the US.
I've gone over the application process for each type of weapon extensively before, and really can't be bothered to do it all again.
When will there be a total gun ban in America?
When there are ski resorts in Hell.
Ownership of firearms by the general public has been controlled by licence for a very long time.
Some Americans like to pretend to believe that the āhandgun banā in the 1990s, which resulted from the only school shooting in the UK, was some kind of turning point, but this is a lie.
The ābanā simply meant that certain types of handgun could no longer be owned under licence. Before that, they were only legal for sport shooting, not self defence. A few thousand were handed over, and the owners compensated for the value. Most people, of course, never owned the things in the first place.
Guns are not banned. If you have a reason to own one, you can get one. Self defence is not a valid reason.
When guns became illegal in the UK, how did the government get everyoneās guns from them, and were they paid for them?
Why is it that so few crimes in the UK involve firearms? How can it be claimed that āif guns were outlawed only outlaws would have gunsā since it doesnāt seem to be the case in the UK?
My girlfriend said, "without guns, there will be no gun related deaths. Thus, no school shootings and no more gun violence. Just ban all guns. The UK did it. They have no shootings. " What is she missing?
I have a home-made infographic for answering questions such as these
This is a simple explanation of what firearms are and arenāt allowed in the UK.
To get hold of them, you need to prove (except for shotguns which can hold up to three rounds, of which you can have up to five on a section 2 license) that you have a use for them, and that the weapon is suitable for that use. You also need to show that you are not a criminal, reckless or mentally ill, and that you can store your gun(s) securely.
Once you have passed these very straightforward requirements, you can then buy your chosen gun and use it for whatever purpose you declared.
There is also another category known as āSection 5ā (the firearms above are section 1 or 2) which are normally prohibited without a good reason. However, no firearms at all are actually outright banned in the UK. If you want (and can somehow afford) to own a Challenger II MBT and fire the main gun⦠you can. If you somehow have a lawful purpose for a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle⦠you can have one. If you have a demonstrable need for a MG-42 in full working order⦠you can get one.
However, for most urban brits, a gun is completely irrelevant. Burglars do not seek confrontation. Criminals are usually unarmed, because of how much heat they otherwise find coming their way. Culturally, there is little demand for any change in firearms legislation. In the countryside, hearing gunfire is completely normal in the summer, and something that you donāt even think about.
Weāve got a system that works for us, in our society. Thatās it, as far as we are concerned. We voted for it, no major party campaigns on changing it. Weāre happy with our approach. We donāt really care what other people do in their own country or what policies they use their votes to support.
Why do you need to own a gun?